Spiritual Beggars – Return To Zero

Easily the best Spiritual Beggars album the last ten years. It took them a new vocalist change but this time I think it will work better for them. But how did we come up to this? Let’s take things a little backwards. It was the year of 2000 when the band released its high peak called ”Ad Astra”. It was the last album with the trademark bassist/vocalist Spice and it also marked a turning point on their career, as they later took a totally different direction. The first two albums of the band (plus the self titled EP) were what could be called more in the stoner rock direction. ”Ad Astra” was so up tempo that none expected it, while entering JB on vocals for ”On Fire” and ”Demons” albums made a lot of fans happy, but even more unsatisfied, because they considered his voice didn’t fit that much as his predecessor’s. These two albums were rather good, but they didn’t seem to stand the test of time.

And this is were the band decided to be active again. Five years after ”Demons” and this time with Apollo Papathanasio of Firewind on vocals, the new album ”Return To Zero” finds the band sounding slower than ever. But despite the lack of speed or up tempo rhythms in general, this album is very tied and the songs work great as a whole, something that we didn’t see in the previous two albums. Apollo does a great job and will surely make all disputes about him collapse after listening to the album carefully. He doesn’t overreact or exaggerate at all, he offers a new identity, working as an instrument for the rest, and he seems to have fit as much as possible from the very beginning, so since we have a deal of chemistry here, the album couldn’t be less than great.

Entering with the heavy and groovy ”Lost In Yesterday”, the listener is prepared for what follows next. I personally had a big smile, feeling that the whole new release will sound different and fresh, and believe me, this is what comes as a final outcome. Tracks like ”Star Born”, ”The Chaos Of Rebirth” and ”We Are Free” prove that the group sounds in perfect shape and this absence was rejuvenating for all members. Michael Amott creates riffs that stick to the mind, the rhythm section of Sharlee D’Angelo on bass and Ludwig Witt on drums adds more heaviness, focusing on the direct playing and not trying to mess around being fast, while Per Wiberg on keyboards (or hammond organ in many parts) does a great job again, proving to be the wild card of this release. As far as Apollo is concerned, the less we can say is he was the right choice at this specific moment.

The album flows easily, and no matter its long duration, being close to one hour of listening, it sounds more personal compared to the previous releases. There is a warm feeling pouring out of the speakers, a sweet ’70s vibe, connected right to the likes of the year 2010. Not being anachronistic or trying to sound analogue, Spiritual Beggars this time managed to not be far away from the ’00s sound they had. A new singer might change things a lot, but it’s the compositions that matter most. If you have a great vocalist and you have crappy stuff, not even Freddie Mercury in his glory days can save you for sure. In antithesis, tracks like ”Coming Home”, ”Concrete Horizon” and ”Dead Weight” make you feel better as the album reaches its end. The two ballads ”Spirit Of The Wind” (especially that) and ”The Road Less Travelled” offer much more balance, instead of making you feel sleepy.

I think that this album was very critical for the Swedes with the Greek vocalist. Not only because it took them quite longer than usual, not only because Apollo is the new member, but mainly because since ”Demons”, things in the music industry changed a lot. It is with great joy that you will realise that not only they are back for good, but the feeling that we can have better results in the future makes us all feel fortunate. After all, they never were a typical band for the typical listener. There always was something special about them. This time they bet strongly on their skills and talent and they were declared as winners. At first, let’s see how active they will remain through the years, due to numeral responsibilities with their other bands, and once this happens, an even better album waits in the corner.